


Care Package

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Care Package [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Awkard Crush, Drama, Experimental Style, F/M, Gen, Humor, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-08-13
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25083181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: After the Winter War... things happen, that just simply makes things crazy
Relationships: Hitsugaya Toushirou & Kurosaki Isshin, Hitsugaya Toushirou/Kurosaki Karin
Series: Care Package [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809130
Kudos: 5
Collections: Experimental Fic





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I don't own Bleach.

A golden sunlight bathed the eastern sides of the building. A pair of shoes made no noise as they moved up the sidewalk to the front door of the Kurosaki household. Toshiro's hand reached up to knock on the door only to hesitate before touching the wood. "Why is it I've been reduced to the substitute general taicho's errand boy? He should be delivering this himself. The last thing I want is to run into Kurosaki's sister Karin let alone this _other_ sister."

Two teal eyes glanced to the right of the house knowing orders were orders. He then turned back towards the door to knock on the door, but instead it opened up causing him to balk at the person standing there.

"You must be one of Karin's friends," were the first words out of the girl's mouth. Two teal eyes blinked in surprise with the realization that this girl was of similar age to Karin and that the first assumption she made was that he was a friend of said Kurosaki sister rather then Ichigo's. The two sisters seemed to be very different from each other.

"Actually..." His words were interrupted by her zealous squeal as she grabbed his wrist and began to drag him inside.

"Karin and I almost never invite friends over. Then again, neither does Ichi-nii," the girl continued to smile. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"No thanks. Actually..." Hitsugaya repositioned the box he'd been asked to deliver on his hip only to find himself interrupted again.

"Oh... I'll go and get Karin," the brown haired girl quickly hurried off, excited about him being there.

"Great... there is actually a reason I don't want to see her of all people. After all... she's most definitely _his_ daughter," the teal eyed youth muttered under his breath as he began to fidget.

"Hey... Karin!" The one girl suddenly yelled. "One of your friends is here!"

"What do you mean, one of my friends is here? I don't remember inviting one. Who is it?"

" _I'm so dead,_ " the small taicho paled. " _Seriously, do they HAVE to yell?"_

"I don't know. This is my first time meeting him," said a voice that had gotten closer.

"You should know all my friends though Yuzu, as they go to school with us. Oh..." Karin stopped on the stairway, watching the visitor carefully. "Hi Toshiro."

"See... there is a friend of yours I don't know. It is nice to meet you, Toshiro-kun," the girl smiled.

"You know what Yuzu. Toshiro isn't here to see me. He knows Ichi-nii best," the girl shook her head at him, as if her mind was still trying to get around something.

"So he's here to see Ichi-nii? He's upstairs studying." The other female began to head up the stairs. "I'll go get him!"

"Except that Ichi-nii isn't the real one, and Toshiro knows that." Two dark eyes glared at the boy.

"But Karin-chan, you keep saying that, that it isn't Ichi-nii," Yuzu pouted.

"It's the Ichi-nii that can jump ten feet in the air. Remember when our entire school could see him jumping that high."

"Oh yeah. I'd forgotten about that," Yuzu headed off towards the kitchen area. Toshiro's face twitched with annoyance as the sister with the lighter coloring let out a laugh. "That means he did come to see you Karin. Are you sure you don't want to have something to drink?"

The black haired Kurosaki laughed at the look of shock and confusion on the boy's face. "Don't worry. For some reason, nobody thankfully remembers. Seriously though, what are you doing here?"

Toshiro swallowed, then held out the box. "I was ordered to deliver this..."

"Ordered?" Two dark eyes became quite perturbed. "You didn't say asked. You said ordered. Aren't you a taicho or something?"

Yuzu walked over to a rather pale faced Shinigami and took the box from him. She glanced at the label. "Hey... Karin, it's from dad and Ichigo."

"Dad... and Ichigo?" The second female preteens eyebrows rose up. "Toshiro, are you playing a joke on Yuzu and me?"

"Joke? Why?" the preteen soul reaper squeaked out.

"We need to talk," Karin stated, suddenly grabbing his arm and pulling him up the stairs. "My dad can't see ghosts. So this isn't funny."

The black haired girl opened the door to her brother's room. Kon was not at the desk in Ichigo's body as for some reason. She watched as Toshiro gave her a funny look. Finally, the color returned to his face. He let out a deep breath as he glanced at the ground. "All right. Whose pulling my leg now. You are telling me he can't see ghosts? Him of all people?"

"Duh. He can stare right at them and not even realize they were there. He can look all around and not find them." Irritation was dripping in her voice.

"Really?" The next thing she knew he was laughing. His laughter was uncontrollable.

"Toshiro! It isn't funny!" the small female suddenly pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.

"Uhh..." Toshiro quickly found his eyes darting to his sides where his arms were pinned by Karin's legs. His cheeks flushed a little. "Could you please get off me. This is rather uncomfortable."

"Why is it the guys in my life always hide things? Ichigo clams up if I mention Shinigami. You make it seem like dad was lying about being able to see ghosts. Kon... Kon doesn't say squat because he's supposed to be our brother and he doesn't think we don't realize he is actually a stranger. What about you?"

Hitsugaya's cheeks flushed suddenly and his face paled. "I made a promise. I'm also sorry I laughed. It just seems exactly like the kind of nutty, brilliant thing he would do. Can you _please_ get off me?"

"Brilliant? There is no way in hell my dad is brilliant. A raving lunatic and old pervert. Are we talking about the same person?"

This caused the small Shinigami to bite back a chuckle. "Yes..."

"I'll reiterate. My dad is an idiot," Karin stated, only to have the boy burst out laughing. "It's not funny!"

"It's just... it's just..." Toshiro found his comment interrupted as the door opened.

"There you two are. That isn't how you're supposed to treat a guest Karin," Yuzu stated, a stuffed chappy doll under one arm. "Dad's note says Toshiro is part of the care package."

"What the fuck! I'm going to kill him!" came the boy's flushed reply.

"Don't use bad words," the pale haired sister chimed in.

"Toshiro... only family gets to beat up my family," the female on top of him said, her tone dark.

"Karin... the letter says Toshiro is family, and to treat him as such. Dad expects him to stay for dinner. He says to tell Toshiro, it's an order." The door clicked shut.

"No..." came the groan as the small taicho closed his eyes.

"Oh... great... stuck with you..."

"Does this mean, possibly... you could let me up now?" There was a hopeful sound to his voice.

"No. I'm tired of _men_ in this family hiding things."

"I promised!"

"And I'm going to find a way to make you tell me!" the girl snapped.

"Hell..."


	2. One Shot 1: Treed

Hitsugaya Toshiro sat up in the tree staring off into space. The Winter War was over and yet the pain continued to persist, that is... the pain of all the things that had happened. The breaking point of his young mind had been crossed ages ago. A voice broke him from his train of thought. "My father said all I had to do to find you was to look up. I now get why he said that."

Toshiro glanced down from where he was to see the substitute soul reaper. With a low tone he spoke, "Kurosaki?"

"How are you doing Toshiro? Everyone's worried because your moping around," the teenager grinned.

Hitsugaya ignored the remark and hopped down, his mind focused on something Ichigo had remarked upon before. "You said something weird."

"That would be?" Ichigo nonchalantly scratched his head, personally wondering what Toshiro was getting at.

"You said your father told you how to find me," the child taicho stated with a look of confusion on his face.

"He also said you weren't always this serious," the teen sighed.

Two teal eyes went wide in bafflement. "You are talking like your father and I know each other. Who is he? Is that why you're a substitute soul reaper and you were able to get the abilities you did."

"Good question... he's yet to explain a _lot_ of things." Ichigo opened his mouth to say something when their attention was caught by a very familiar voice ringing out. Toshiro's ears perked up upon hearing the voice a the corner of his mouth moved up slightly.

"Ichigo!" Isshin popped his head around the corner. "Oh, Shiro-chan. You're with him."

The Kurosaki teenager turned to his father, but a gagging noise made him glance back over his shoulder in time to see a rather shocked preteen. He also felt the small taicho reach out to grab onto the back of Ichigo's robes. To his surprise, he felt the boy let out a tremble. "Toshiro... he's not that scary, is he?"

The small taicho peered from behind Ichigo, and blurted out. "He's supposed to be dead. He's a ghost... right? That... or I'm dreaming."

"Toshiro..." Isshin let out a deep sigh. "Bright as you are, you're the same as all ways. Need I remind you, you _are_ a ghost?"

"Kusaka came back!" Toshiro blurted out still peering around the physically older male at the figure in from of him, his eyes wide from shock..

"Actually... I am very much alive," Isshin said with another sigh.. The younger Kurosaki suddenly felt a sudden flare of reiatsu, the icy kind. The next thing he knew a very irate preteen had moved from behind him and moved over to where Isshin was. Ichigo was surprised to see Toshiro show behavior he never would have expected from him.

Hitsugaya, through a swift action brought his knee to slam into the area above Isshin's groin. From the look of sudden frustration on Toshiro's face as his jaw trembled Ichigo knew things weren't going the child taicho's way. He had seen that look every time Toshiro's plans went off balance despite the fact it tended to quickly disappear. In response, the boy quickly maneuvered so that he swung around Isshin, landing a good hard kick to the old man's back area.

The younger Kurosaki hurried over to pull the small boy off his father. "Toshiro! Seriously! Calm down!"

"Isshin-san taicho..." Toshiro's body somehow managed to stiffen and sag at the same time. "Why? Why?"

"You were his taicho Oto-san?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

This caused the small taicho's jaw to suddenly drop as his eyes went wide. He then wiggled free and moved slightly behind Ichigo and stared at the man in bewilderment. He gave a small tug on the physically older boy's sleeve which caused Ichigo to bend down to listen to what the preteen had to say.

Quite a few pauses occurred, not to mention the small taicho's face flushed a few times. But after a few minutes, what he wanted to say was said and he backed away from the other a bit. Ichigo had a smile spread on his face. "Toshiro, that goes without saying? You didn't have to ask if you can think that. I actually have always felt along those lines."

"What is it that the two of you are talking about?" Isshin crossed his arms.

"None of your business, mister. I like to leave people in the dark," Ichigo stated, causing a smirk to appear on Toshiro's face while the old man let out a groan.


	3. Crushed

The small taicho glared up at Kurosaki Karin's face. The preteen girl had a huge lopsided grin on her face. She had been sitting on top of him for a few minutes now. He was sure that his face was filled with irritation, but this was one person his cold look couldn't sway. This in itself irritated him as he basically lost his only defense mechanism.

The defense mechanism developed back in his Rukongai days when everyone called him icy, cold and distant. Because they called him a certain way, he adopted the icy shell over his real persona. This _girl_ was the last person he wanted to drop his shields on. However, he had yet to figure out why he was so scared of dropping his shield.

Yes... he was terrified about showing his real self to a person. He had been hesitant before, but this time it was even more so. Neither one of them spoke, so finally he gave in, wishing that Kon was there to rescue him. That would have been better then nothing. "Are you going to let me up? "

"I told you Toshiro, I am going to find out what you're hiding," Karin stated firmly.

"Oh... what are you going to do? Kick a soccer ball at me again? Real mature Kurosaki. Or how about beating me up," the boy grumbled. He watched as her face twisted in irritation.

"No... you're right. That might intimidate my guy friends but you're different. You're one of Ichigo's friends," Karin stated, glancing away. She didn't catch his face twisting up with hurt, as if Toshiro took what she was saying almost as if they weren't friends. As his face went back to blank she turned back with an evil grin on her face. She began to wiggle her fingers.

"What are you doing?" Toshiro's eyes narrowed.

"Oh... you've never heard of tickle torture?" Karin's smile grew.

"Torture... seriously. You've _seen_ the kind of Hollows I go up against," the boy muttered. He wiggled again in an attempt to get away. Annoyance plastered onto his face.

"Tell me Toshiro..." the girl stated.

"No." came his response, his irritation growing. Suddenly, her fingers reached down and attempted to tickle him. The small taicho frowned at this. "It isn't working." However, after a bit she found the one spot that Matsumoto and also his former taicho always aimed for. It was the spot that he couldn't help but laugh. "Stop!" he flustered out.

"I will, once you tell me what they're hiding!" Karin stated, tickling him harder and more profusely.

"Korosaki-san!" the white haired boy gargled out between his laughs. This caused an already embarrassing situation went from only slightly embarrassing to even more so. She continued to tickle him for quite a few minutes. However, she then had to pause for her own breath. "Come on... Toshiro... would it really hurt you to tell me?"

"I made a promise," Hitsugaya said admittedly, a frown spreading on his face. He found himself having to force the frown and the words out as he was still laughing. "Get off of me. Please."

The girl's fingers tapped the floor, her own irritation growing. "Come on Toshiro..."

"Why do you want me to tell you? Why can't you wait until your father gets home?" the small boy asked.

"Because, I bet they won't tell me... that is the way they are," Karin sighed.

"I still can't tell you. I made a _promise,"_ Toshiro wiggled again, trying to break free.

"I thought we were friends," Karin's face turned up in a pout. She saw this time though, the hurt look on Toshiro's face. He glanced to the side, biting his lip. His silence was staggering as he refused to respond. The preteen girl didn't know how to respond to this and closed her eyes. She tapped the floor trying to figure out what to do. She leaned over, her face getting close to Toshiro's. "Come on, just tell me."

She found herself blinking, as she saw his face suddenly become flushed. It became more flushed the closer her face got to him. Her hot breath fell onto his cheek, her mouth only inches away. "That might work..."

"What might work?" The white haired taicho attempted to feign a sense of not caring.

"If you don't tell me, I'll kiss you," came the bold threat.

"Nani!" Toshiro suddenly turned his head towards her, his face flushing a deeper red. "You wouldn't _dare_!"

"I will dare to, unless you tell me," the girl stated firmly.

"I don't believe you! You're bluffing!" came the indignant reply.

"What... you don't think I have the guts to do it?" The darker haired of the twins voice was filled with some sort of menacing tone.

"That's not it," Toshiro glanced away. "I am not telling you, because I don't believe that you would do it."

His two teal eyes, suddenly went wide, as Karin placed a hand on either side of his face, and forced Hitsugaya to look at her. Her own face, that had only been a few inches away suddenly closed in, her lips locking with his causing his two green eyes to grow even wider, his cheeks to turn a deep red. This was definitely not his day.

To say the least, her lips on his felt awkward. The action though, sent tingles down his spine. These two opposite emotions confused him, not to mention the fact that while he wanted it to end, something inside him wanted more. He could feel a heat growing in his cheeks and behind his ears. His mind raced that he had trusted Karin not to do something like this. Did that not mean his trust in Karin was broken, not to mention he figured Isshin's trust in him to be the same way?

Karin pulled away, looking at him in confusion. "Why are you embarrassed? I thought all guys talked about was things like this."

Toshiro opened his mouth, then closed it a couple of times. "If I don't tell you... you're going to do that again... and I can't easily shove you off... can I?"

"Not in you're gigai. I'll give you the count of ten," the girl sighed. "One..."

" _Seriously... if I tell her, I'll have broken my promise to Isshin_ ," Toshiro stated, his mind foggy.

"Two..."

" _You don't mind her kissing you. This way you don't break your promise to him._ " the dragon sighed.

"Three..."

" _Yeah... but if he or Ichigo catch me kissing her, he'll kill me... they'll both kill me_ ," the small taicho stated firmly.

"Four..."

" _She's the one that kissed you..."_ the dragon sounded bored with the whole thing.

"Five..."

" _They WON'T see it that way!_ " came the protest.

"Six..."

" _You're enjoying playing this game..._ " the dragon hummed.

"Seven..."

" _No... I'm not!"_ Toshiro was rather irritated.

"Eight..."

" _How long, are you going to deny that you like her..._ "

"Nine..."

" _What... I don't... not... not..._ "

"Ten..." Karin said, causing the small taicho to flinch and shut his eyes closed tightly.

"Your father's my former taicho." Toshiro stated.

"You..." the girl's voice sounded almost disappointed.

The small taicho continued, his voice straining. "I said that your father was my former taicho. He disappeared around twenty years ago. We all thought he was dead, but it turns out a really bad person only made it seem that way."

"Toshiro..." a familiar voice came from the window. "What the hell do you think that you are doing?"

"How much did you see?" Toshiro asked, his face flushing and his eyes wide, a tad bit of fear showing in them.

"I got here, when Karin was at number six. I'm kind of disappointed as I figured you wouldn't be able to fall for any of her torture treatment. I mean, come on... how bad can being tickled or beat up be compare to fighting an Espada?" Ichigo stated. He hopped off the bed and grabbed his small sister from behind, and pulled her away. "You do realize, you get to tell me dad what you've done? You know he's going to be pissed."

"Hai..." Toshiro mumbled. " _Better he be pissed at me for this, then the other thing._ " He felt himself pulled up and shoved towards the door, two pairs of eyes staring at his back. This made him extremely uncomfortable.


	4. One Shot 2: Family

When you fear something, do you run and hide from it to live another day, or do you try to make it so that you face that fear head on, despite the consequences? One small taicho slipped out of his room in the forth division and headed towards where his fear was. He slipped into the room, prepared to face it. He was a Gotei Thirteen taicho, so he could handle anything Hinamori Momo said.

He stepped into the room, watching as she sat on the bed, staring at the wall. He cleared his voice to get her attention and she turned her small head towards him. "What do you want?" Her voice was rather monotone, in a way... distant.

"I..." The small taicho opened his mouth and paused. Many words wanted saying, but his lips refused to move, almost as if he didn't know how to say the words that he desperately wanted too.

Momo turned back to the wall, her composure remaining. "I don't need this from you, you know?"

"You don't need..." Toshiro's voice strained from hurt. He felt like she was pushing him away.

"I don't need you coming here, sulking away," the girl responded without looking him in the face. Never before had he heard her have such a dark, pessimistic tone. The Momo he knew was always optimistic.

"Hai..." With that, he turned back and headed back to his room, a whole strain of dark, moody thoughts passing through his mind. " _She didn't want to see me..._ " Arriving back at his room, he simply froze in the doorway. He felt a huge pain feeling his chest. He felt like he was going to break. The last thing he wanted as a Gotei thirteen taicho, was for someone to see him in a bad state of mind.

Carefully he slipped under the bed where the wooden floor cooled his warm skin and the dust attached to his fingers. He found himself reminiscing on the fact that a lot of things were his fault and they were coming back to haunt him. Kyoraku Taicho had told him before he messed up to keep his cool. Truth of the matter was he hadn't been able, proving that he was really a child.

As his chest calmed, his eyelids started to fold on themselves trying to close. His breath slowed and his mind numbed as he for once refused to think, as thinking only brought back the pain. In his dazed state, he didn't hear the two people come into the room.

"The... the brat's gone and taken off on Unohana again," came Abarai's voice. "We come to visit, and he's off trying to do paperwork."

"Maybe..." Kurosaki stated. Their voices had jarred the small taicho to consciousness and he pulled himself tight, hoping none of them would think of looking under the bed. However, quickly coming into his limited line of site he saw Ichigo's face peering at him from an angle. "Hi..."

There was a muttering sound from the other side of the bed and the small taicho suddenly felt someone grab him around the waist from behind to pull him out from under the bed. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You get irritated whenever someone calls you a kid, yet here you're acting like one."

"Renji..." Ichigo's voice suddenly turned stern.

" No! I constantly get sick and tiered of Rangiku and the other girls babying him," Renji stated, dropping the small taicho onto the bed. "And it's other people too, like Ukitake and Kyoraku Taicho, even you."

"He's right here you know and he's also a person with feelings," Kurosaki snapped.

Abarai ignored him and stuck his face right into Toshiro's. "Why the hell haven't you gone and visited Hinamori yet?" This caused Hitsugaya's eyes to water from the shock of being told off. He opened his mouth to say something, but then decided he wanted to pull away from Renji instead. The fukutaicho of the sixth division simply forced Toshiro to look at him. "She's waiting for you to go see her."

"No... she isn't," the boy stated, the words coming easily, as it was simple answer.

"You haven't even _tried_ to go see her, so how can you know?" Renji stated, his voice firm.

"I did too!" Toshiro snapped as his head turned sharply away. A few tears trickled down his cheek, making him inwardly angry at himself for showing the soft sappy side of himself he rarely showed people.

Renji paused, his mouth dropping. Ichigo walked over and pushed him away. "What happened Toshiro?"

"I went to her room, tried saying something... but, I chocked up." The child's limbs went limp, his shame showing through on his face. "She just... didn't want me there."

"You're taking this hard because she's family aren't you?" Ichigo asked.

Renji, who's face was twisted in a scowl, spoke up. "How did you know that?"

"Rukia said that they grew up together like siblings. When we first came here, they explained to us that people formed their own family groups," the substitute soul reaper stated, placing a hand on Toshiro's shoulder. "If she cares about you, she didn't mean what she said."

"That's right," the sixth division fukutaicho stated. "I'll go talk to her and see what is going on, all right?"

"If she cares then she isn't acting like herself," came the soft reply. Two teal eyes watched as Renji disappeared.

Ichigo sat down next to the small boy. "So... why was it you chocked up? What are you so worried about?"

Hitsugaya's mouth opened then closed. A scowl passed over his face. "I may not be the eldest, but in our family I am the oldest male, the only male. It's my job to protect them. First, I couldn't protect my grandma from my own power. I almost killed her with my reiatsu. Now, it's Hinamori. I couldn't protect her from Aizen and then I stabbed her with my own zampaktuo."

The orange haired teen stared at the wall. "You are rather intimidated by your own power, aren't you?" He received an irritated affirmation, more at the fact it was true, then at the young man himself. "Let someone else be the older brother for once."

"Excuse me?" Toshiro narrowed his eyes at Ichigo, confusion twisting his face up.

"I said, let someone else be the older brother. Be one of the siblings that older the brother protects. By that, I mean for you to let me take on some of your burden," Ichigo stated firmly.

"You aren't older then me," the boy muttered.

"If I had been born in soul society, or died and come here, you wouldn't be using the fact that you have more years on me, because no one knows how long anyone's been here," Ichigo stated. "But, if I had lived here, been born here, I would be the older one, simply because I am physically older."

"Why?" Two small legs swung up and were held out as the small body stretched and finally found itself able to relax. "Why, when the person I considered my sister hasn't treated me like her sibling since she entered the academy?"

"Because,you've always been like a brother to me. That kind of bond... you can't really break it," Ichigo stated, watching a few tears trickle down the small taicho's face.

"He's right you know," came a soft voice from the doorway, causing both males to glance up.

"Hinamori..." the name tumbled out of the child's mouth.

The small female gave him a weak smile. "You don't call me Momo nee-chan anymore. I don't know why you stopped calling me that if we're still family. If you still think I'm family, then is there something you aren't telling me?"

"You didn't want me there," Toshiro stated, glad that the tears had stopped falling. Abarai though had seen him cry but stood in the doorway pretending like he didn't care at all. To the small taicho's surprise, Momo stepped forward and quickly hugged him.

"Gomenasai. I shouldn't expect you to smile and be happy when I can't even be. I never have liked seeing you cry," Momo let out a sigh. She then said something indicating that she knew full well that Toshiro had been crying. "Just because your a boy, that doesn't mean you can't cry sometimes."

"Baka! I've cried plenty of times around Rangiku! I just don't do it around you because you look like you're going to cry or going try to smother me. It was one thing when we were little, but we aren't little kids anymore." Toshiro pushed away, only to find himself hugged closer.

"That's what your problem is?" Hinamori let out a sigh and rubbed Toshiro's hair. "Shiro-chan, you'll never be to old for me to coddle or baby you! I'll do it even when your married."

Hitsugaya suddenly paled, his cheeks turning a deep red, causing both of the teenaged males to burst out laughing.


	5. Disappointment

The small taicho walked down the stairs, his shoulders hanging as he did not want to his former taicho to yell at him. Nor did Toshiro want to see the look of disappointment on the man's face. The man meant a great deal to him despite the absence of over twenty years from his life. He also felt the glares of Isshin's two children that were most like the man on his back.

Isshin stood hovering over Yuzu, watching her prepare dinner before he glanced up. "Ahh, hello Toshiro-kun! Karin-chan!" However, his face faltered upon seeing the look on the male preteens face. "What happened?"

Ichigo shoved Toshiro forward. "You tell him, Toshiro. You're the one who messed up, didn't you?"

"Mmm..." the small boy simply stumbled forward and grabbed his knees. The push hadn't been expected at all. He refused to look up from the ground. He tried opening his mouth, but his words refused to come out.

"Ahh! Toshiro-kun! You need to be more careful on the stairs!" Yuzu stated, hurrying over to where the small taicho was as she did not realize someone had pushed him.

"Hai," came the simple response. He then stood up, his mouth twisting as his eyes caught on Yuzu, as Ichigo popped back into his body.

"Ahh... Yuzu-chan, daddy left some notes back in the office. I'll watch the stew, while you go get them for me?" Isshin stated.

The small girl puffed out her cheeks. "Daddy... you've got to take more responsibility! Sheesh!"

After she took off, the man turned to Toshiro. "All right. _What_ happened?"

As Karin stepped forward off the stares, she found herself shocked to find Toshiro suddenly making a deep bow, his face twisted up with guilt. "Gomenasai! I told Karin about you being my former taicho! Gomenasai!"

"Toshiro... you _promised_." Isshin frowned in disappointment. "I've known you for nearly forty years, and this just takes the cake! You've always kept your promises. Why now?"

"Gomenasai!" The white haired boy made another quick bow, this time remaining in the position.

The man opened his mouth to say something, but paused in doing so. He shook his head. "Karin, could you take Toshiro over to watch the television?"

"But..." Karin paused, then let out a grumble before grabbing the small taicho's wrist. The father of the house couldn't help but notice the blush that spread on the small taicho's face.

"I thought Rangiku was joking..." Isshin sighed.

"What did you think Matsumoto was joking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Ahh... nothing," the old man brushed off. He watched as the television clicked on.

Yuzu came through the door, and slammed down a whole stack of papers. "You didn't say _which_ one you forgot so I brought the _whole_ stack." Isshin simply thanked her, watching the two on the couch.

Karin simply channel flipped with the controller. "So, what do you want to watch Toshiro?"

"I don't know..." the boy's whole body hung limp as he sat on the couch.

"What do you mean you don't know?" the dark haired preteen couldn't make heads or tales of what he was trying to say.

"I don't watch television. I've almost never seen it, unless Matsumoto drags me into doing so," Toshiro stated, remaining limp.

"Oh..." Karin stated, picking a particular show out, her voice sounding a bit disappointed. "What do you like doing in you're free time."

"What free time?" The small taicho flatly stated to which Karin let out a frustrated sound. "I guess what time I have, I use to go visit my grandmother, or spin tops. I don't really have that much."

"Do you really have to be a downer?" The girl went back to channel flipping in frustration.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Toshiro glanced up, the usual spark in his eyes gone.

"You make it look like messing up in front of my dad is such a big deal, like he's the coolest person in the world, when in fact he's the least cool person ever," Karin paused again.

"I don't get why you would say that. He's a pain in the neck a lot, but when you are down in the dumps or just need advice, he typically knows how to come through and if he doesn't, he at least tries. Also... he's one of the few people who ever let me act my real age and didn't make fun of me for it," came the quick reply.

"Then why did you tell me if you were so worried about disappointing him?" Karin turned to look at the teal eyed boy full on, only to have him glance away.

"Why... why did you do what you did?" Toshiro asked.

"Why? It isn't as if you have a crush on me, so it doesn't matter," Karin muttered. "You're also Ichi-nii's friend... you know him better and get along with him a lot more." There was a pause of silence. "Toshiro... speak to me, will you?"

"It's Hitsugaya," came the reply, the aura around the small taicho suddenly becoming dark. He stood up and headed to the door.

"Hey! Toshiro-kun! Where are you going!" Yuzu has a look of concern on her face.

"Home," the boy muttered.

"Toshiro... do I have to order you to stay?" Isshin stated, only to have the boy look at him with a rather hurt look. "All right... we'll try this some other time, all right?"

At that, Toshiro walked to the front door and opened it, stepping into the outside. When he closed the door though, he didn't leave. Instead, he collapsed to the ground. A few tear drops fell. "I don't want to stay there. When I met Karin, I thought that we had become friends. And... I do have a crush on her. But, I don't want to leave either. I want to be around taicho and Ichigo..."

" _Tell your taicho the truth_ ," the dragon asked.

"No... he won't just be disappointed. He'll want to tan my hide."


	6. One Shot 3: Father

Boredom filled the taicho of the tenth division's mind, though this was in truth something that always seemed to be with the man. He walked down the hallway, stepping lightly on his feet when he came to his division offices. He heard a sound coming from the offices which seemed off to him as Ran-chan and Shiro-chan were out on a mission.

He slipped into the office and saw Ichimaru Gin in there, fiddling with a picture. It was one of Matsumoto's. He at first let the man be, but then he saw the man slip something into the back of the frame. Stepping over he, tapped the younger taicho on the shoulder. "What are you up to this time?"

"It looks like I got caught?" Ichimaru smirked. However, the smile on his face quickly left. "I'm just hiding something for Shiro-chan and Rangiku, in case something happens to me."

"In case something happens to you? Well, I get the reason behind leaving a letter for Rangiku, but why my little fukutaicho?" Isshin let out a deep laugh.

"Nothing really. It's great that you can be such a father figure to him." The man shut the piece of paper back into the frame.

"You aren't recollecting not having one yourself?" The man sighed, going to sit at his desk.

"That isn't it." Ichimaru closed his eyes. "I just really appreciate what you're doing for him."

"This sentiment is not normal for you. It isn't as if you are going to be going anywhere, any time soon." Isshin let out a deep sigh.

"But I might..." Gin stated, leaving the room. "I might just leave one day an not come back."

**M**

Isshin stepped out of the tenth division as in truth he felt bothered by something. That memory from long ago bothered him. As far as anyone knew, Ichimaru was dead. The young man's whereabouts, even Rangiku didn't know. He moved forward and stepped into the office, only to see his former fukutaicho staring out the window from his desk.

"Toshiro?" The man spoke up.

At that, the small child glanced up. "Taicho? Are you reminiscing about things?"

"Something like that." Isshin gave the boy a weak smile. "You're the taicho now, aren't you?"

"I guess so." Toshiro went back to staring out the window. "Doesn't it kind of feel empty?"

"Because Matsumoto isn't here? She never was here." The man took a deep sigh.

"It's because he isn't here." The small taicho's face remained rather emotionless. "He's not coming back is he? I mean, we could have hoped before that he would come back, but from the way Rangiku described things he likely didn't survive."

"Would you say Toshiro, that something's happened to him?" The Kurosaki elder moved over to the bookshelf, the same one he remembered Gin standing by.

"What do you mean by that?" Hitsugaya's face twisted up.

"Do you think Gin is going to be coming back?" The man's hand reached out for the picture.

Two teal eyes glanced at his desk. "Do I even want to admit to anyone I want him to come back? Why I do, I don't understand, other then it would make Rangiku happy. But truth is, I don't think he's coming back and for some reason that hurts. It isn't as if he cared about anyone but her, so I really guess it is because of her I want him back, so Rangiku will smile again."

"I wouldn't say she was the only one he cared about." Isshin began to pry the back of the picture frame off.

"Taicho! That is an important picture to Rangiku!" The small taicho hopped up from his seat, the frustration written all over his voice. "You are the same as always!"

His small hand reached out to take the picture, only to pause when he saw the paper on the back. Isshin removed it and glanced at the paper. Isshin clearly saw a letter addressed to three people, himself included. He unfolded the paper and quickly read the contents, then closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. "He wants me to mediate between you and Rangiku on this."

"You knew there was something there?" Toshiro frowned at the man, then folded his arms.

"I caught him putting it there. Maybe he hoped that I would see it. He cared a lot about you, Toshiro." Isshin stated, going and sitting down at Rangiku's desk.

"Yeah right. He tried to kill me." The small taicho's confusion grew.

"You could say he tried to kill Matsumoto too then." Isshin sighed.

"He pretended to kill her, so that Aizen would be fooled." Toshiro walked over to lean on the desk. "If you knew something, why didn't you say something."

"I was kind of worried what he wanted to tell you and Rangiku. It explains why he said what he did then." The man set the paper onto the desk, his hand holding it down.

"Taicho..." Hitsugaya's cheeks puffed out. "You're irritating me."

"Have you ever wondered about your birth parents?" Isshin asked, a smile lightly playing on his lips.

"I died and came to Soul Society. I figure I died and came here when my parents abandoned me to the snow storm. They did that because they thought of me as a freak. I'm not blind to the fact I am mostly an unwanted child." Toshiro leaned on the desk. "This was rather cruel thing to bring up you know."

"Toshiro, you..." The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I know for a fact that your parents loved you very much and that they didn't abandon you. You were actually born in Soul Society."

"That letter... it says that Gin and Ran are my parents doesn't it?" The child shinigami glanced at the ground. "He could be trying to pull one last practical joke you know. And he was never in my life, as was Rangiku. Isn't that abandoning me?"

"Let's say Ichimaru Gin were to have a child with strong reiatsu from a young age. What would Aizen's reaction be if he found out." Isshin gave a weak smile.

"He would have wanted too..." Toshiro paused, his face turning pale, not to mention green. He then glanced away. "What about Rangiku? She wouldn't easily give me up."

"She didn't. She doesn't even know. Well, I think she does know, as she found you when you were younger and you needed her. She instinctively knew you were hers. Gin happened to spin many lies simply to protect the two of you. Do you understand what I am saying."

"Unfortunately... yes." The small taicho glanced at the ground. "Could you not tell her. I am not sure I am ready for her to know. I'm not ready."

_Isshin reached out and placed the paper into the child's hand. "If you need me to mediate between the two of you, just let me know."_


	7. Stern Words

Two eyes stared into the back of Karin's head. Isshin made the decision when he became familiar with the shinigami again and was assigned temporary duty of first division commander to reinstate the family bond he had before with his former fukutaicho. However, when he said something to Matsumoto, she became concerned about the idea.

**M**

" _You're Ichigo's oto-san, right?" Rangiku's face twisted up in concern._

" _That just means that Ichigo and Toshiro are brothers. They already act like it, despite neither one saying something out loud to each other. It kind of goes with out saying." Isshin scratched his head, confused as to why she was worried._

" _It's about Ichigo's sister..." Matsumoto let out a deep sigh._

" _You mean sisters. The twins are around Toshiro's age equivalently and he's due in for another growth spurt. Making friends with them will do him some good." Isshin smiled at her. "Which is why I want to introduce him to my entire family, so he feels comfortable around them so he can be part of the family and finally make some friends."_

" _Taicho's already made friends with Karin." Rangiku let out a sigh. She then closed her pale blue eyes. "No... taicho has a 'crush' on Karin-chan and I believe he's got it bad."_

" _Shiro-chan? Little Shiro-chan has a crush on someone?" The man laughed the whole thing off, but then saw her face. "Come on Rangiku. He's a little kid."_

" _Ne... taicho... taicho isn't little like he used to be. In case you haven't noticed, he's had a growth spurt since you've been gone." Matsumoto gave the former taicho a smile. "He's going to be a little bit uncomfortable with the situation." She then frowned, noticing the look on his face. "You don't believe me, do you?"_

" _The whole situation just seems... odd..."_

**M**

Isshin made it quite clear when he had told Toshiro about going to deliver the package that he was not to mention that Isshin was his former taicho. He wished to keep the two girls out of the loop of things for as long as possible. Yuzu would worry too much and Karin was already intrenched enough in the mess as it was.

He had figured to use the package as a way to get Toshiro to his house without argument. Whether what Matsumoto said was true or not, Hitsugaya would always be a sensitive child when it came to social interactions. So, he figured he would use this method to prevent the small taicho from bagging out simply because he didn't feel comfortable.

However, for some reason things went against his plans. First came the shock that Toshiro had some how managed to blab what he wasn't supposed to, something completely out of character for the lad. At first Isshin was simply upset with the two preteens. However, when he noticed the interaction between Karin and Toshiro, he couldn't help but note that Matsumoto's comment about Toshiro having a crush was correct.

As he stir the stew, he noticed the two preteens having an argument. He thought about stepping over or saying something, but also felt that they needed to learn to interact with each other on their own. That was when Toshiro suddenly stormed to the front door, making it clear he didn't want to stay because of something Karin said.

Which was why Isshin didn't force him to stay. However, he did go and sit down next to Karin, to try and figure out what exactly went on. "So?"

"So what?" the girl muttered.

"What happened between you and Shiro-chan?" Isshin stated firmly.

"Nothing." Karin stated firmly.

"Nothing?" The man let out a deep, irritated sound. "I know that _something_ did in fact happen. You know how? Because it takes a _lot_ to set off that kid. I could tell that the two of you had a disagreement."

"It was about you, all right." The small female slumped on the couch.

"What about me? That I was his former taicho?" Isshin let out a sigh. "I need to talk to you girls more about that later, as there is a rather long explanation there."

"It wasn't that." The dark haired twin refused to look him in the eye.

"Then what."

"It has to do with the fact that you are a freaking idiot and an embarrassment to be around." Karin muttered.

"Toshiro said that? I don't blame him for saying those things. Do you?" Isshin stated.

"Except he _didn't_ say those things about you. He refused to say _anything_ negative about you. He _hero worships_ you dad, which makes no sense at all. Your an absolute idiot, yet... yet. He says you're actually pretty amazing. Yet everything he's claimed, I've _never, ever_ seen you do. In fact, it seemed rather silly."

"So you noticed the fact he does look up to me. Is it really that big of a surprise due to the fact he told you I was his former taicho?" The man let out a chuckle.

"You, in a leadership position is not something I believe. " Karin crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

"I guess I mostly show my other side now. He's known you for a lot longer then you have though, so he possibly knows me better then you do. Ever think..." Isshin found himself interrupted.

"You're _my_ father, not his!" The small female snapped out.

The man simply remained calm. "Your mother and I have always felt he was one of our own Karin."

This caught the dark haired twin off guard, but then she spoke up. "Mom never met him."

"No, she didn't. But before we married, I told her tons of stories about my small fukutaicho and how much I was worried about him, due to the fact I couldn't return to soul society and I couldn't let him know I was alive. Toshiro... he's an orphan... a child without parents, raised by a little old lady, not really knowing who he was, or having the people around him accept him."

At this, the small female turned and stared at the man. "This is what he was talking about."

"What do you mean what he was talking about?" Isshin blinked a couple of times.

"He said that sometimes you could actually be serious. I didn't believe him, because I've never seen it before." Karin then turned her head away.

"So, you owe him an apology for that. What else do you owe him an apology for?" The man pushed further.

"What do you mean? That wasn't what he got angry at and stormed out of here for." The female pulled her knees up to her chest.

"What did you say to him to set him off then?" Isshin's tone said he was starting to become frustrated.

"I don't get why he reacted. I said something about him being Ichi-nii's friend. That's as far as our relationship goes." Karin stated.

"So... you're not even friends? Damn it Karin, why did you have to tell him, of all people something like that?" The man shook his head.

"Because..." At that, the small female simply stood up. "I'll be in my room.


	8. One Shot 4: Candy

Falling down from the sky... the blow in truth was crushing. For a child who strove to reach the stars, whether he wished to admit it or not, being forced back to the ground simply was humiliating. Actually, the whole episode with Aizen was humiliating due to the fact Hitsugaya Toshiro knew he emotionally lost it when his zampaktuo pierced Momo's chest.

His body crashed to the ground hard, pain shooting up his left shoulder and his left knee. His heart also beat hard and fast from the shock the spread through his body and the threat made by Aizen for every single one of them to watch as he destroyed everything. In other words, everything that every single action to protect turned out useless.

Then to his surprise, everything was over. He could sense members of the forth division approaching and he closed his eyes, the embarrassment of his own actions. He could feel his body lifted up, and as he was lifted up for transportation to the forth division barracks, he was jostled somewhat, causing his eyes to open slightly.

"Relax Hitsugaya Taicho. You're in good hands." The soft voice did nothing to reassure him, yet he felt himself transported off, his senses blacking out. When he came to, he was in the forth division, his left arm in a sling and his left leg propped up. At first he kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep as people came in and out of the room.

However, someone moved into the room, stepping over to the small table to set something down. One of his eyes opened slightly to see who it was and he found himself surprised to find the other white haired taicho visiting him. "Uki..."

He paused as the man turned around and snapped his eye shut. He heard a chuckle from the man. "How long are you going to pretend to be asleep?" At that, the small taicho heard a rustling of something, and then felt something hard placed at his mouth. He gritted his teeth shut. "Come on Toshiro... that is just proof that you are awake if you are stopping me."

At that, the small taicho's eyes snapped open along with his mouth, allowing the older male to push a piece of hard candy into his mouth. The man then moved away as Toshiro's teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "Why?"

"What do you mean why? You should be up and about by now, despite the fact you'll be a little stiff motion wise on the left." Ukitake sat down next to the small taicho. "You have us worried, particularly since we know you're not asleep."

"I could have gotten everyone killed. You included." The small taicho let out a sigh and tried to move so he could sit up and talk to the older taicho. He struggled a bit and then Ukitake helped him up. "I would have thought you would have been out longer then me?"

"Yes... well, I also wasn't depressed out of my mind like you are." The man reached out and ruffled the young shinigami's hair. "Shiro-chan, you need to get better. You may have, as you said, messed up, but you can't even begin to make up for what you've done unless you wake up and start doing things." He then held out a bag. "Want some more candy?"

At first, Toshiro's face said he was flabbergasted, bu then he glanced to the side and held out his right hand. "I guess I'll have some."


	9. Nervous Truth

"He'll want to tan my hide." Toshiro's teal eyes glanced at the ground. He tensed up when the door opened up and the same eyes glanced up to look into a very familiar set of orbs.

The man sat down next to the small figure using his huge body to move the boy over to the side. Isshin placed his chin in his hands and leaned on his arms looking rather sullen. At first he didn't speak leaving the boy to look at him with the frightened look of shock on his face. Finally though the man spoke up. "What would I tan your hide for?"

"How do you know I was speaking about you wanting to tan my hide and not someone else?" The white haired boy glanced away.

"Easy." The man stated without giving his answer. He continued to lean on his arms, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Easy?" Two teal eyes turned to the man wide eyed, the voice snapping in frustration. "How is it easy to tell? Maybe you took the easy route and don't know what the truth is?" The older Kurosaki male reached his hand up in a fist and wiped one of the tears away from the boys face that had managed to fall. Toshiro's eyes glanced down, his lip trembling in panic. "Ta... Taicho!"

"What is the matter?" Isshin watched as the boy suddenly looked away with a huge frown on his face. His eyes were still watery but he held onto the hurt feelings. Instead he added to them feelings of frustration and embarrassment. When the man didn't get any response he spoke up again. "It has been awhile since you and I have had a good talk hasn't it?"

The boy suddenly stood up letting out a deep sigh, making a move to leave in order to avoid the conversation. "I had better..."

The former taicho of the tenth division grabbed the young shinigami's ankle. "Sit Toshiro. The reason I knew that you worried about me tanning your hide is because you just stormed out of _my_ house and it was something in _my_ home that upset you. I know you well enough to know that your thoughts are going to be stuck on what happened."

The man's tone was serious. "Don't you think I would want to know what you think is so bad that I would tan your hide for? Don't you also know that I won't let up until you do tell me the truth?"

Toshiro suddenly sat down, his body rigid from shock knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to escape telling the man what had occurred. Despite this he didn't speak up right away. "I delivered the package just like you asked me too. I told your daughters that I was ordered to deliver the package and they read the label and found out that it was from both you and your son."

Isshin pondered what had been told him as the boy paused in what he said. "Did you _really_ tell Karin and Yuzu that you were _ordered_ to bring the package?"

"That is the truth isn't it?" The boy glanced up as his lips pushed together. His mind drifted suddenly causing his eyes to go wide and his cheeks suddenly flush up.

"No wonder Karin suspected something was up." The man let out a deep sigh. "My daughter is very intelligent Toshiro. She may not know as many things as you do but she can easily run circles around you if she feels like it. She's also very stubborn."

"I've noticed. I've been on the rough end of that a few times actually." Toshiro leaned forward on her arms.

"Like today for example?" Isshin let out a chuckle.

The preteen suddenly turned his head towards the man. His eyes were yet again wide and had managed to dry up. "What do you mean?"

"She found a way to interrogate you didn't she?" The man's smirk twisted up at the corner.

"Umm... yeah. She did." Toshiro's cheeks suddenly flushed up red. "She dragged me up to your son's room and got the information out of me."

"The question is how?" Isshin suddenly placed his hands behind his head.

"Ehh..." The boy's face became suddenly deathly pale. "Do I have to answer that question?"

"You are a taicho of the Gotei Thirteen and before that my fukutaicho. You could be tortured for hours without giving any sort of information away." The man glanced up at the entrance way. "Yet you did."

The white haired preteen suddenly pulled his legs to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. There was more silence from him as his cheeks flushed up. "She took me by surprise and wouldn't get off of me no matter how much I asked her. She tried tickling me. She asked if we were really friends. And then... then..."

Toshiro closed his eyes as he buried his face into his legs. The oldest Kurosaki glanced down, raising an eyebrow. "She got you with that? I heard how from Karin how she told you not that long ago that the two of you aren't friends. I honestly don't think that is true."

"I didn't give into that though." The boy let out a deep sigh as he moved to lean his chin on the palms of his hands.

"What next?" Isshin let out a chuckle of amusement.

"She threatened to kiss me." Toshiro glanced at the ground, his mouth grimacing and the look of shame rather evident.

"I don't exactly blame you for giving into that threat." The man let out a deep sigh.

"Except I didn't give in." The boy glanced to the side. "I didn't give in until she threatened a second time."

Isshin's face at first continued smiling, but then his composure quickly faltered. "Wait a second. What are you trying to tell me?"

Toshiro slipped in front of the man and then bowed his head low to the ground. "Gomennasai!"

"Kiddo..." The older Kurosaki found himself scratching his head.

"I'm really sorry taicho! I really am!" The young shinigami kept his head to the ground.

Isshin reached down and grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt and hauled him up from the ground and back onto the step. "Quit that before one of the neighbors notice. The last thing I need is for someone thinking I'm abusing you or something."

"I'm _really_ sorry." The preteen hung his head.

'Honestly Toshiro. What were you thinking? The man let out a deep sigh.

"Either action I took would have brought dishonor to you. So... I choose the lesser of two evils. At least... I did the second time around." Two teal eyes refused to look the man in the eye.

"That isn't what I meant." Isshin placed a hand on his forehead remembering who his hardest child to deal with was.

"Then what did you mean?" The boy glanced up in confusion, his eyes pools of pain. He then opened his mouth slightly and glanced to the side. "I'm sorry we kissed. I really am."

"You said it!" The older Kurosaki suddenly let out a sigh of relief. He leaned back and glanced up again as his muscles relaxed. "That doesn't tell me what you were thinking Toshiro."

A small finger began to trace an invisible circle on the ground. "I thought I could trust her."

"Look. I got that." Isshin suddenly placed a large hand on the small head of white hair. "I think you need to know I'm not mad at you for this. I'm actually pissed off with my daughter right now."

Toshiro's head shot up with a panicked look on his face. "Please don't punish her. Please punish me instead. Please!"

"No." The man frowned at the boy. "I don't punish children who I know to have done no wrong. It doesn't matter how kind your intentions are either."

The older Kurosaki watched as the boy's face suddenly turned to anger. "But I have done something wrong. I mean, I _liked_ getting kissed by her. Hyorinmaru flat out told me when she was couting to ten that I was enjoying her game. Despite the fact I denied it he was right. I wanted her to kiss me again but I knew it was wrong. So I took the lesser evil and told her that you were my former taicho. So punish me all ready."

"For what?" Isshin watched the boy's jaw suddenly drop from shock. "I'm actually surprised you are admitting you have feelings for my daughter. Normally I would have to dig it out of you."

"I..." The color drained from Toshiro's face except for his flush red cheeks. He turned to face the street and bit down slightly on his knuckle.

"Knock that off. You'll hurt yourself." The man reached over and pried the boy's hand away from his mouth.

" _When I said you were enjoying the game between you and me, not you and her. The fact you think you enjoyed the game between the two of you has some very disturbing implications._ "

"Ehh..." Two teal eyes blinked a couple of times.

"What is it Toshiro?"

The boy glanced up as his face turned green. His mouth then moved saying exactly what his dragon had told him. "Why does it have some disturbing implications?"

Isshin found himself frowning. "If you really did enjoy that little game of hers it means you enjoyed being abused by her."

"I'm sorry." The preteen buried his head into his arms.

"I'm going to tell you what I think of this even if you really don't want to hear what I have to say." Isshin placed a hand on the child's tense shoulder. "I think you did enjoy the fact that Karin was your first kiss. I think you enjoyed getting your first kiss. But there were things that you honestly didn't enjoy."

"The truth of the matter is, I think deep down you knew you wouldn't be in trouble no matter what you did in the situation. I think you also know deep down I wouldn't have been mad at you for the situation. However, you felt hurt that Karin would break your trust in her not just once but twice in such a short period of time."

"Chances are you wanted to kiss again. However, you were probably scared of things getting out of hand and beyond kissing. You were afraid things would head into territory you didn't want it to go with Karin. If you didn't give her an answer she could have taken things farther. She'd already broken your trust once didn't she?"

Isshin suddenly fond the boy interrupting him. "I wasn't scared! I wasn't! I wasn't! I wasn't!"

" _Except that is the exact feeling you had when it happened."_ The dragon spoke softly. " _I should know because I felt it. You tried making up excuses as to what your feelings really were. You were terrified if you told her the truth she would either completely reject you or take things past where you were willing to go. You were scared of being taken advantage of._ "

"Toshiro..." The man watched as the boy's face changed expressions as the dragon spoke.

"You're right. I was afraid. I _really_ like her. I still like her despite what she did to me." The boy glanced up at the man. "Taicho... this isn't the kind of reaction I was expecting."

The older Kurosaki stood up with a smile on his face. "I know it wasn't. Yuzu is still fixing dinner. I still want you to stay. I want you to try and get the courage to tell Karin exactly how you feel about the situation. I'm not giving you a choice on this."


	10. One Shot 5: Little Kitten

Rangiku watched slowly as Ichimaru Gin lay in front of her dying. Tears rolled down her cheek and fell upon his brow. She wanted him to say something but whenever his mouth moved words didn't come out. It was almost as if he wanted to say something to her but couldn't. Something told her the words he was trying to tell her were important not to lose.

Finally though his lips stopped moving and his breath stopped coming. She found herself suddenly bawling her head off with a sound she felt could be heard all the way in the living world. At least, that was the way she felt emotionally. He was one of the last people she wanted to lose and she held onto his cold dead hand for quite a bit of time.

Eventually someone from the forth division came to pick up his body and cover him with a white cloth to carry him back with the other possible dead. Rangiku found herself standing up with an aching feeling. The numbness that came from the disbelief of her not getting to say goodbye caused her not to comprehend what was going on.

Someone took her arm and led her to a room in the forth division. Her wounds were attended to and eventually Isane came to her side. "Matsumoto-san?"

"How are you doing?" Rangiku gave the other woman a weak smile.

"Your taicho is being brought in right now." The tall female stated with a frown on her face.

The busty female's eyes went wide and she suddenly stood up to hurry to the small child's side. Isane called after her but truth was nothing was going to stop her from seeing that little one. She let out a laugh remembering when she had told her captain and Gin about the boy and one of them had refereed to him as her kitten.

" _Well, he is likely the kind of child you and that Ichimaru scum would have had._ "

The woman ignored her zampaktuo and arrived as they were carrying in the child genius on a gurney. Her smile at being elated to see him suddenly fell. She could tell through the sheet that two of his limbs were missing. Her hand clapped over her mouth as she tried not to vomit over the procession. One of the forth division members called out for her to stay out of the way.

To everyone's surprise two teal eyes opened up weakly and a small hand... the one that was left reached out to grab hers. The mouth of the child moved before the eyes shut closed again. Rangiku then found herself hurrying along with the group to the room they had set up for the small child. She only let go when they were lifting him onto the bed.

The sheet was removed and she found herself turning towards the waste basket and spewing what little food she had. "God no. Not him."

"Matsumoto Fukutaicho. If you are uncomfortable..." One of the men stated.

A tear fell down her cheek and she held back the pain before sitting down next to the boy's bed as the medics began to bind his severed limbs. Her mind was racing and numb. First she lost Gin and now the child she loved as her own was going to lose his ability to walk and hold a sword. A few more tears fell down her cheek. More would have come if it weren't for the fact it wasn't time to be crying.

Eventually though they finished and she was left alone with the child. There was the offer to go back to her own room but she profusely refused. Her wounds were nothing compared to this little ones. Eventually his beautiful, bright teal eyes opened up to look at her weakly. "Matsumoto?"

"Taicho!" Rangiku clapped a hand to her mouth and a few tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Did I make you cry?" The boy frowned at her.

"No. It isn't your fault I am crying. It is Aizen's." The female grasped his one small hand in hers.

It was then that he tried to sit up. The tactic he used was to try and use his free hand to do so, but there was no free hand. This realization caused confusion to flit across his eyes. Rangiku's hands reached down under where his armpits were located and helped him to sit up. She smiled at him but the look on the face told her he knew very well that she was pained.

His teal eyes drifted over to his other arm to comprehend why he couldn't move about like he wanted. Toshiro simply stared upon seeing the missing limb. After a bit of time he moved back the sheet to reveal his missing leg. "I guess I'm not going to be a shinigami much longer."

"Taicho..." The woman felt a few tears fall down her cheeks. "No matter what, I'll make sure you're taken care of."

The boy looked up at her in surprise. "Why?"

"Why..." Rangiku paused for a few seconds. "Because I want to. Because..." She paused for a few seconds.

"Where is Ichimaru?" The words spilled so innocently out of his mouth and then the woman placed her head upon his shoulder and sobbed away. She felt him reach up and pat her on the back and comfort her. It was in truth supposed to be her taking care of him. For some reason he spoke up again. "I understand."

But how could this small child even begin to understand what she was feeling. Then again maybe that wasn't what he was saying he understood. Maybe her small taicho simply understood she needed someone. Maybe he understood that she wanted to feel needed. She wasn't trying to replace Gin but to find solace in something other then her usual drinking habit.

It wasn't long after that she found herself happily cutting an apple for him to eat. He watched her do this calmly. The look on his face said he didn't understand why she wanted to do this for him. However, the fact Toshiro didn't object to her babying him meant that he knew she needed him near her. For a short time it was a reprieve.

And short it was. Inoue Orihime soon came into the room, clapping a hand over her mouth as she looked at the wounds on the small child. "Toshiro-kun! I knew Unohana wanted me to see to you, but... I didn't know!"

"It's all right. I don't wish to abuse your powers simply because you have them." The boy stated smiling at her. A look from Rangiku though caused him to suddenly frown. He opened his mouth and narrowed his eyes in thought. He glanced at the older female with a worried expression on his face, his lips pushed together.

"Inoue, I don't care if taicho says he doesn't want to use your powers because he feels like he is taking advantage of you. Please. I wish to take advantage of your powers for him." The woman looked at the boy with a stern look.

Orihime danced into the room and brought out her little friends and Rangiku watched as her small taicho looked at his right arm rather depressed like. "How can they heal my arm when there is no arm there?"

Both members of the tenth division found their eyes going wide as the child's missing arm suddenly began to materialize back into existence. Orihime then moved onto the boy's leg. "I can fix anything I can see. Inside injuries I can't do because I don't know what the organs look like and I can't do sickness and some other stuff. But this is rather easy."

When she left Toshiro glanced up at Rangiku. "Why did you insist on her healing me?"

"Do you really want to remain a cripple the rest of your life taicho?" The woman sat down on the bed next to him. She popped a piece of apple into his mouth.

A crunching sound followed by swallowing was heard. "I thought you wanted to be able to take care of me. I mean, I don't want to be taken care of you forever... but..."

"You noticed I needed something to ease my mind." Rangiku smiled without looking at him. "I am hurting. I would hurt more if you were hurting despite the fact it could be fixed though."

The boy simply leaned back pondering her words.


	11. Angst

Karin stormed up to her room and slammed the door while her temper flared. She flopped onto the bed before grabbing the pillow and burying her head into the bedding. " _What the hell was I thinking? I'm not supposed to be like those girls in class who area always swooning over the latest boy band. I'm a tom boy, so why the hell did I get upset over something like a kiss which I instigated as torture._ "

Letting out a sigh she flopped onto her back and simply stared at the ceiling. There came a knock at her door and she simply ignored it. Finally though her father spoke up. "Karin?"

"Go away!" The girl yelled.

"I'm not going to go away." The man let out a deep sigh.

"Well, maybe I'm not decent? Ever think of that?" Karin spat out the words that she thought would most likely get her father to leave her alone.

The door simply opened up and the man stepped in. "Ever stop and think about the fact I've seen you butt naked since you were a baby. I could you know, show Toshiro some really cute pictures of you when you were younger."

"You wouldn't dare!" The preteen sat up and her cheeks flushed a brilliant red. "Of all the things you could do to embarrass me! Seriously, I don't know what your and Toshiro's problem is."

"I could also tell you a few embarrassing stories from when he was my fukutaicho." Isshin walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "At least, he would see them as embarrassing. I want to talk about what you did to make Toshiro tell you I was his former taicho."

"As I recollect, Toshiro's gone home so if I don't tell you , you won't be able to find out. So there goat beard." Karin stuck her tongue out.

"I think I'll go down stairs and show him some pictures after all." The man narrowed his eyes at her. "Of course, I think between you and him, he's the one who would be most embarrassed by the situation. Do you understand what I am saying Karin?"

"I know you are trying to get at something, but what you are trying to get at isn't very clear." The girl flopped back onto the bed. "Plus... I'm really mad at him."

The man let out a deep sigh. "Why are you mad at him?"

"As if you would get it goat beard." Karin glared at the man.

"Why don't you try me? Or is it that you word your feelings." The man glanced at the door as he thought about how it had been easier to deal with Toshiro.

His daughter sat up. "I'm mad at Toshiro because he didn't let me kiss him a second time. If he let me kiss him one time then he'd already messed up with you so a second time wouldn't have hurt, right?"

"What kind of logic is that?" Isshin turned his head in confusion suddenly wishing that his wife was still around. " _I have an idea where this is going but I honestly don't want it to head in that direction._ "

"Simple. The real reason Toshiro didn't let me kiss him again is because he didn't want me too."

" _I was_ _afraid_ _she would say something like this._ " Isshin let out a deep sigh. "You shouldn't make assumptions like that. I think you really need to talk to Toshiro and find out how he really feels about what happened before you jumped to conclusions."

"I don't think I jumped to conclusions." Karin continued to sulk into her pillow.

"I have a question for you. Did you want to kiss him again?" The man stated.

There was a period of silence. "You promise not to fly off the handle and try and kill him if I tell you the truth?"

"I'm making no promises. Spill it." Isshin said.

"I like Toshiro a lot. I don't know when I started liking him as more then just a friend since we haven't spent much time with each other, but he isn't like the other guys at school. He's a lot more mature then the guys who go around talking about the latest playboy. He's intelligent, kind. He's got his problems, but I honestly think he's the kind of guy I would like to date once you let me start dating."

"Did you _ever_ stop and think about the fact I wouldn't approve of you _kissing_ at this young of an age?" The man let out a deep sigh.

"I figured he would spill before I kissed him the first time because..." Karin paused for a few minutes before closing her eyes. "I thought he wasn't interested in me and would spill simply to get the obnoxious girl to leave him alone. He let me kiss him though and he wasn't saying anything as I counted down from ten. Then... he blurted out that you were his former taicho. That was just... cruel."

"Why wouldn't you think that he would be interested in you?"

The pillow was suddenly set aside. "What guy my age would give me a second look?"

"Toshiro." Isshin let out a deep sigh. "Do you really think that he is the type of guy that would like a girl because of their looks. You just told me that one of the things you like about him is the fact he isn't like your friends who fawn over the playboy stuff."

"Then why didn't he let me kiss him again?" Karin frowned at him.

"Look, the best solution would have been to simply let me come home and tell you I was his former taicho."

"You don't tell us anything. Nobody does." There was a short pause. "You and Ichi-nii were going to leave me in the dark about all of this, weren't you guys?"

Isshin found himself pausing and looking away. "There are some things you are better off not knowing. But you're right... it isn't really fair for me not to tell you about this stuff. You shouldn't have taken it out on Toshiro though. I promised him that I would let him tell you how he felt about what happened between the two of you."

"He could have told me earlier." Karin shook her head. "It isn't going to work."

Isshin let out a deep sigh and stood up. "Maybe sharing his feelings with other people isn't an easy thing to do. I know it isn't easy for him as I've known him for a long time."


	12. One Shot 6: Deformed Heart

Despite the fact Orihime didn't know what the relationship between Hinamori Momo and Hitsugaya Toshiro was, she knew very well that the small taicho of the Gotei Thirteen happened to be worried about Momo. And thus she went to the twelfth division hoping she could do something to return the girl back to normal. She saw a bunch of weird creatures popping up from left to right.

She was allowed into the room and she began to heal up Hinamori's wounds and the girl came too. She then went with the small female to the forth division to have her checked out. Everything seemed fine when they did the physical test. It wasn't until they did a scan that they found out the problem and by then it was too late.

Unohana let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry to say that there is an oddity in Hinamori Momo's body."

"How so?" The small white haired female bubbled the comment out.

The taicho of the forth division held up a chart. In it they could see Hinamori Momo's reformed organs. Except, they didn't look like reformed organs at all despite the fact they were working correctly. The heart was of the heart shape but not the cardiovascular heart shape. The liver was a giant green jelly bean. Each of the organs that had to be replaced was like this.

"I don't think that is true." Unohana Taicho sighed as she looked at Orihime.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't think your powers work that way per say." The woman let out a deep sigh. "I think you are letting your imagination get the better of you.


	13. Speak Easy

Toshiro sat on the couch again, his muscles completely tense from the situation he was finding himself dealing with. He had never been in such a situation before and this fact grated on his nerves immensely. The smell of food cooking came to his nose and he felt his stomach grumble to the point he felt everyone else could hear it.

Letting out a sigh, his eyes darted to the ground in frustration. He didn't hear Ichigo approach him from behind. "Are you doing all right Toshiro?"

"I'm fine... I guess." The boy let out a deep sigh. A noise from the stairway caused him and the orange haired teen to look up.

The corner of Toshiro's mouth turned up as he saw that Karin had come downstairs and he turned back around to look at the television that had been turned off since both had left the premises before. The female came and sat next to him and his Adam's Apple bobbed down. Carefully he turned around so he could face her, only to turn his head towards Ichigo.

It was then that Isshin grabbed his son by the ear and dragged him off to watch bug Yuzu again. "I'm mad at you."

"I got that you're mad at me." Karin stated, her tone dark indicating she was still irritated with him. "You're mad at me because I got you to break a promise with my dad."

Toshiro remained silent, digesting what she had said before speaking up again. "That isn't the only reason I'm mad at you."

"You do understand I'm also mad at you, right?" The female still refused to look at him.

The preteen shinigami's Adam Apple bobbed down again. "I know you're angry at me, but I don't understand why you are mad at me."

"I wanted you to let me kiss you again." Karin continued to look forward.

" _What?_ " Toshiro's jaw dropped a little after saying this out loud. He blinked at her in confusion, before shaking his head.

"I don't talk about guys and dating with Yuzu and her friends. That doesn't mean I don't know what I am looking for in a guy. You're pretty much it and I also know I'll be hard pressed to find another person like you. I'm not blind to the fact that you could have any girl our age you wanted. It was a bunch of wishful thinking on my part."

" _She just said I'm the kind of guy she would date. If I was a girl I wouldn't want to date me. I'd rather date someone like..."_ The young shinigami started at the ceiling. " _... I wouldn't date anybody from the Gotei Thirteen. Maybe Kira or Hisagi if I were a girl. Or Ukitake, but he has the same problem I do with my looks."_

"I don't get it," he finally said.

"You don't get what?" Karin suddenly looked at him in time to see his face twisted up with frustration.

"Why you would like me. I'm not a nice person to be around, my personality is honestly a turn off. My eye and hair color is a freakish color and I am shorter then others my physical age. You're also going to outgrow me as people in soul society age slower then they do in the world of the living. Goodness knows I don't like myself one bit, so why would anyone else?" There was a pause in the conversation. "You aren't trying to play with my mind again are you?"

"What do you mean playing with your mind?"

Toshiro took a deep breath and then spoke, trying to prevent his voice from fluctuating and getting to loud. "How do you explain to me what you did earlier? I trusted you _not_ to do something like that you know. And then you went and did... _it_. And then you said you would do _it_ again. And I didn't want taicho to find out that _it_ happened, but he did find out that _it_ happened. But I trusted you... I really did."

Karin found herself suddenly flinching. "I really blew it with you didn't I? It was bad enough that I stood little chance in the first place with you."

"You're talking about soul societies laws and the fact you're going to physically out age me aren't you?" The boy let out a deep sigh after saying the first thing that came to his mind.

"I heard that." Ichigo piped up without knowing the full situation. "Doesn't Soul Society have more leniency towards friendship between shinigami and the people in the living world? Plus, it doesn't matter what a persons physical age is. You and I are friends, so I'm sure you and Karin will still be friends when she gets older." There was a bit of silence before the orange haired teen let out a yelp of pain.

" _What if he comes over here and interrupts the conversation and over hears what I need to say to her?_ " Toshiro turned to look Karin in the face, but the words he wanted to say simply chocked up and his throat stiffened. " _Why can't I just say it?_ " There was a pause and finally Yuzu spoke up letting them know dinner was ready. " _Why can't I tell her that I like her? That would make everything better._ "

The two got up and headed to the table. Ichigo glanced up, a smirk on his face. "So have you two settled everything and talked about everything you need to talk about?"

"Yes. I feel better." Karin stated, her disposition having calmed down.

"No..." Toshiro's shoulders simply tensed up, looking down at the plate in front of him. The dark haired twin looked at him in surprise, but simply shrugged it off.

Isshin raised an eyebrow. "While they have talked, it isn't something they'll be able to talk over in one conversation."

The older teen looked over at the two with his brown eyes, before shaking his head. "I'm missing something here."

"I'll tell you later." The man stated.

"Don't!" Toshiro suddenly blurted out.

Ichigo glanced over just as his father spoke up again. "Actually... Toshiro will tell you when he is ready to tell you. I think there are some things he's still having a problem telling Karin, so you'll have to wait."


	14. One Shot 7: Missing Pieces

"I think that you should stop by the tenth division."

Kaien blinked a couple of times upon hearing this request from his taicho. He turned his head to look at the man, frowning as he did so. "Sorry sir... but whenever I go over there my brother tries to rope me into doing his work for him. It's gotten quite annoying, considering the fact I am already taking on some of the captain's duties here." The man paused, before becoming slightly flustered, his hands waving. "Not that I mean I hate taking on the duties sir."

Ukitake held out a bundle of candy. "Well... consider it part of those captaincy duties to deliver this for me as I am not well enough to do it myself."

Kaien held out his hand and felt the bundle drop into his hand, before reaching up to scratch his head. "Sir... I doubt the captain and the fukutaicho of the tenth division need any more sugar in their system."

"It's not for them. It's for the new third seat." The white haired man smiled, then blinked a couple of times. "Wait... Isshin didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"He took in that child genius that just graduated from the academy. He is even younger then Ichimaru Gin. He also graduated in less then a year too. I think it was Ran-chan that found him and convinced him to go to the academy, from what your brother told me. So you could say that it's her whose taken the boy in."

"My brother is going to try and take care of a child subordinate? He can't even handle our kid brother Ganju. Seriously... giving me more work then I need." Kaien turned on his heals. "I'll go ahead and deliver this sir." Two of Kaien's fingers went and saluted the air as he headed to the tenth division.

Upon arriving at the tenth division offices he slid the door open, blinking a couple of times at the site he saw. He couldn't see his brother anywhere around and Rangiku was off somewhere as well. A stack of papers was on his brother's desk, telling him that his brother was off napping again. He was about to turn and leave when he saw a small hand reach up to grab a sheet of paper and suddenly disappear.

Curiosity perked, he stepped over to the stack of papers and peered around to see a small child with white hair working in a busy manner. "Hello. You must be the new third seat." To his dismay the boy simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to work. "You know... it is rather impolite to not speak to your superior officers when they address you."

"You didn't introduce yourself." The boy continued working at the paper work.

"My name is Shiba Kaien, fukutaicho of the thirteenth division, younger twin brother to Shiba Isshin, the annoying and yet again shirking his duty captain of the tenth."

The boy stopped short. "So that is why you're so informal." The boy stopped what he was doing. "My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro, third seat of the tenth division and equally annoyed that the captain of the tenth is shirking his duties." Kaien pulled the bundle of candy from his sleeve and held it out. "I'm not a child."

"It's not from me. It is from Ukitake Taicho. He likes to spoil the child geniuses that come through the Gotei Thirteen. That includes myself, my brother and Ichimaru Gin."

"You mean Matsumoto's school mate?"

Kaien stopped short. "School mate?"

"That's why he is close to her. Hinamori told me that he doesn't tend to get close to people."

"Did you have a school mate you were close to?"

Toshiro turned back to his papers. "I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"Says who?"

"Forty Six."

The smile quickly left the younger twins face. "You... you've already had a run in with the forty six?"

"I'm not free to answer that."

"All right. Would you like some help with the paper work?"

Toshiro paused, frowning at the man. "Is it right to ask that someone from another division help out?"

"Sometimes other divisions step in to help. I know that happened when the division transitioned from my father to my brother." Kaien picked up a stack of papers. "Plus... my brother finds ways of roping me into helping him... no, making me do all the work."

"Am I the new way to get you roped in?"

Kaien stopped short. "No... I think you're the new person he's going to try to pass the work onto."

"I don't mind."

"Really?"

"I really don't mind having to do all this paper work. I do mind being left alone."

"You don't like being left alone?"

"Not really. No... I don't like being left alone."

Things were quiet then until Isshin's spiritual pressure could be felt being drug in by Rangiku. Kaien looked up while the boy continued finishing the last piece of paper.

"Seriously! Going off like that! Toshiro _just_ joined the division and instead of teaching him what to do, you just leave him alone to fend for himself."

Kaien blinked a couple of times. "Nii-sama... please tell me that you didn't let him do all the paper work without giving him instructions on what to do."

Isshin blinked a couple of times. "I didn't tell him to do the paperwork."

"I did it because it needed to be done."

A silence fell into the room for a few minutes while the boy looked around wondering why everyone was staring at him. Kaien got up and looked through the papers that Toshiro had put forth. "Nii-sama, you are so lucky that Toshiro was able to fill out these forms on his own without your help"

"And why's that?"

"I would not be helping you to refill out the forms, nor would your fukutaicho or third seat."

"Oh..." Isshin walked over to Toshiro and suddenly lifted the boy up in the the air. "Toshiro! You're so amazing!"

Kaien found himself letting out a deep sigh.


	15. Brother Mentality

**Brother Mentality**


End file.
